We all have insecurities or qualities of ourselves that we\u2019d like to improve, right?<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t miss updates on Procurement & Supply Chain, Subscribe here!<\/p>\n
Well, I\u2019m no exception. One of my skill sets that I\u2019m always trying to take to the proverbial next level is my speaking skills.<\/p>\n
I\u2019d love for the day to come when I could get through a day of speaking without uttering a single \u201cum.\u201d Or being able to speak at a quick pace for a long period of time without pausing to collect my thoughts. Or without meaning one thing while saying another.<\/p>\n
I work on these shortcomings. Especially as an instructor of the art and science of procurement negotiation, I strive to be the best communicator I can be because verbal communication skills are so critical when negotiating.<\/p>\n
I admit it. I get jealous when I speak with someone who can gracefully go through a highly-technical conversation without filler words, stumbles, and mistakes.<\/p>\n
Such was the case last week when I took my daughter to have ear surgery. When I spoke with her surgeon, I was so impressed that he was able to rattle off all of these facts confidently while speaking at such a quick pace.<\/p>\n
Question about healing time? Bam \u2013 quick, intelligent and confident answer.<\/p>\n
Question about pain? Bam \u2013 quick, intelligent and confident answer.<\/p>\n
Question about medication side effects? Bam \u2013 quick, intelligent and confident answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cDarn,\u201d I thought to myself. \u201cI wish I could communicate like this guy. He\u2019s brilliant!\u201d<\/p>\n
Then it dawned on me.<\/p>\n
This doctor probably performs dozens of ear surgeries every single day. He gets asked the same questions every single day. He tells parent after parent the same exact thing.<\/p>\n
If he was stumbling through his advice and answers after all of that practice, he would have to be an idiot! If you don\u2019t know your stuff after doing the same thing every day for decades, you probably shouldn\u2019t be wielding a scalpel.<\/p>\n
While procurement negotiation may not be an \u201cassembly line\u201d type of task, certainly if you\u2019ve been in dozens of negotiations, there are plenty of common and similar elements. So, when you run into common situations, do you \u201cwing it\u201d and make up what you say as you go? Or do you say things that you said (or practiced) before so that they come out smoothly and you brand yourself as a powerful, intelligent professional in the mind of your supplier counterpart?<\/p>\n
Too many of us don\u2019t plan or practice our negotiation communication. And then, when we do negotiate, the words come out sloppily. When we let this happen, we are failing to take advantage of our ability to drive an advantage in the negotiation.<\/p>\n
The bottom line is this: good communication gives you power, and repetition breeds good communication.<\/p>\n
Are you using repetition to make yourself a better communicator and skilled negotiator?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We all have insecurities or qualities of ourselves that we\u2019d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":4135,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-procurement"],"yoast_head":"\n